Shenanigans
by Faith's melody
Summary: Danny is finally acting on his attraction towards Sam, but she isn't seeing the signs. Danny will try any tactic, though, to see how Sam feels about him except the one that is working...making her laugh.
1. The Opening Act

**A Few Notes**

**The college mentioned below is, for all intensive purposes, my college. I may change some things, but it's still basically my college. **

**This is one of the stories that I've been anticipating. I don't think this chapter will be one of my better ones, but I needed a way to start it. It'll get better, I promise. If you aren't interested after reading it then I ask you to please read the next chapter when I put it up. Perhaps it will spark your interest then.**

**Disclaimer:** I'm not worthy! I love Danny Phantom, but Butch Hartman is the genius who owns him.

Chapter 1-The Opening Act

Tucker had been waiting for about a half hour before the sound of a familiar vehicle cut through the other sounds of the college campus. Twenty seconds later, a familiar motorcycle came into view from the road that led down to the small town that the college overlooked. He grinned and waved a hand to signal the rider where he was and waited patiently as the motorcycle sped over and finally stopped in front of the college's Main Hall. Tucker ran down the steps to greet his friend as the helmet was pulled away.

"Sam! Hi, how are you?"

The girl gave a grin. "You saw me over Christmas break, Tucker. Not much has changed since then."

"Okay, then…how was your trip?"

"I ran into some construction and the roads weren't clear from snow in some places, but I managed. Sorry, I'm a little late." She glanced around. "I forgot how small this place is."

Tucker nodded. "It's a lot different form Casper High."

Ferrell University was a small college with only about 600 students. It had been founded in the late 1890's, and, while modern conveniences had been added, the school still retained a classic charm to it. There were two main dorm buildings and then other houses for students were situated on and off-campus. The hill the college sat on overlooked the small town of Cody. The town only had about 5000 people, but Sam recalled that there was a larger city named Lexton about fifteen miles away.

Tucker glanced suspiciously at the one bag Sam picked up from her motorcycle. "Please tell me that's not everything you have."

"I'm shipping everything else. Hopefully, it's gotten here by now. Where's Danny?"

"At the Student Union." Tucker internally laughed as he remembered exactly what his friend was doing there.

"And?"

Tucker rolled his eyes. "He has no idea you're here or that you're even coming," he recited.

The smile Sam gave him made Tucker consider edging away from the Goth. Maybe he shouldn't have helped her. But the thought of Danny's face kept him from spilling the secret. This was going to be priceless. From the look on Sam's face, she was having similar thoughts.

"Good."



No, that sounded stupid, he thought. Danny scratched out a line and glared down at the paper that was supposed to be a letter. He'd been working on it for about an hour. So far, "Dear Sam," was the only thing worth keeping.

He was a coward, he admitted it. After fighting his growing attraction for his best friend, this was how he was going to tell her? It was pathetic, it really was. He could fight ghosts and save his city from disaster after disaster, but he couldn't say, "Sam, I love you." to her face?

And the letter wasn't even turning out like he wanted it to. Darn it all! He knew what he wanted to say, but getting it out on paper was an entirely different matter.

He bit the back of his pen nervously as he tried to think of what to say. He didn't even acknowledge it as the door opened and two people stepped inside.

Tucker and Sam glanced at each other before returning their gazes to their friend. It was just too easy. Danny was off in his own world. Sam frowned for a second as she took in his desperate look of concentration. Classes didn't start until tomorrow so what exactly was he doing? It had to be something stressful if he was biting his pen the way he was. She hoped everything was all right. A faint blush arose as she stared at him, and she shook it away to concentrate on what Tucker was saying.

"How's it going so far?"

"Fine," Danny murmured, his eyes still trained on the paper in front of him.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should take a break."

Danny just shook his head. Tucker frowned. He knew how strained Danny was over the letter, but if he would just look up then the letter would be pointless anyway.

"I kind of wanted you to meet a friend of mine."

"Maybe later."

Sam had been growing increasingly worried and decided the game was over. "Hi, Danny."

Danny's pen hit the table from where he'd now been twirling it his hand. His eyes stayed on the paper. It couldn't be. He was hallucinating.

Sam gave a small smile. That was around the reaction they'd been expecting, if somewhat bigger. She turned to Tucker.

"I need to go get checked in and make sure no one steals my motorcycle. I think it's safe to say that Danny is going to be like that for a while. Why don't we meet at dinner? Maybe he'll be a bit livelier then.

Tucker nodded and Danny only started to lift his head as she made her exit. He was able to make out his friend's back as she left. So he could see the hallucination, too.

"Sam?"

And as the door closed, Sam was able to hear Tucker as he started to laugh. She gave a relieved sigh, though. The Arts college she had been at before was nice, but the feeling that she was missing something always lingered in her mind. And the school was a little bit too big for her. She had really missed and Danny and Tucker and the adventures the three would have together. The thought that she might transfer had crossed her mind, but she hadn't taken it seriously until she had seen Danny and Tucker over Thanksgiving. Then she had started making arrangements. And somehow she'd forgotten how being around Danny was a problem. Her feelings for him came back over Christmas break. She was just going to have to keep them hidden. He didn't feel that way about her. He'd spent years it seemed drooling over Paulina (though that phase had thankfully ended) and, by now, he probably had already found someone here at the university that he liked. Keeping her feelings hidden was for the best. No one wanted a broken heart.

Danny's reaction flickered in her mind again and she gave a small chuckle also. Surprising Danny had been worth it. She'd confided in Tucker so he could keep Danny busy while her things were brought back home from her previous college during the first week of Christmas break. Tucker wasn't the most reliable person, but, from Danny's reaction, he hadn't spoiled the surprise. She gave a small chuckle again as she reached the college's business office. She didn't realize that she was going to do a lot more of that in the future.



"I'm dead."

The sound was muffled because Danny currently had his head buried in his pillow. Hopefully, the statement did not mean that Danny was trying to asphyxiate himself.

Tucker gave an exasperated sigh from where he was currently working on his computer. "It's not that bad. You act like her being here is a bad thing."

"It's not!" Danny finally raised his head away from his pillow. He had been in that position for most of the time. Ever since they had said good-bye to Sam last night after talking with her as they showed her around. He had acted normal yesterday after the initial shock, but now he seemed more traumatized then Tucker had ever seen him. "I mean, it is! It is for me!"

"And why is that?"

"I can't…I'll just blurt out that I love her."

"But you were going to write a letter to her about it."

"But if I tell her…she probably doesn't feel the same way."

Tucker have a snort of disbelief. How blind could Danny be?

"And if I don't blurt it out than I won't be able to tell her at all. I just can't win. And I thought she was happy at the Arts school she was at. Why did she transfer?"

Tucker shrugged. He had asked her the same question, but had yet to receive a direct answer. Still, he thought as he glanced at Danny, he thought he had a good idea.

""She said something about how the school just wasn't what she thought it would be."

"But she should be going to a school that will help her with her career. She wants to be an artist. There has to be some Arts school that will help instead of a small university like this."

"So why are you here, Mr. Astronaut?"

Danny gave a chuckle. "Touché."

"But you're acting like you don't want Sam here."

"I do. I'm glad she's here. She just surprised me. But I've been keeping this secret for so long…we've been friends for so long…she's not going to feel the same way."

"You can't know that. You can always find out how she feels."

The look he gave Tucker was wary. "How?"

"Flirt with her. Give her subtle hints and see how she responds."

"Flirt?" Danny's face screwed up as he tried to picture it. "With Sam?" Obviously, from his facial expression, what he was picturing wasn't pleasant. "Tucker, if she doesn't feel the same way then she is going to kill me."

"You don't have to do it. But if you aren't going to just tell her then I don't see what other choice you have besides ignoring it all together. You could try the letter thing again, I suppose. But I don't think Sam is going to be the one to start this."

Danny gave a groan and buried his head in his pillow again. "I'm so dead." Tucker glanced at the clock.

"What time did you say your History class started at?"

"Ten," came the muffled reply. "Why?"

"Do you think that Mrs. Reese will allow wallowing in self-pity to be a valid excuse to be tardy on the first day?"

Danny looked up at the clock. "Crap!" It was probably the fastest Tucker had ever seen him go as he ran around the room in search of his things. Books in hand, Danny took a second to check his appearance in the mirror. He paused and turned back towards Tucker.

"Why exactly am I taking advice on my love life from you?"

"Well, there's always Jazz…"

"Right." Danny was almost out the door when he stopped and turned back. "And, if Brandon calls, will you tell him that I already heard about the practice tonight from Sheila?"

"Got it." Tucker hadn't turned away from his computer the entire time.

"Thanks." And he was out the door.

**And now it is time for my challenge. I want you all to guess what Danny is referring to when he mentions a practice. I'll tell you if you get it right. I'll give you a few clues.**

**It has nothing to do with athletics of any kind.**

**It's something you would not normally find in high school.**

**I just want to see if any of you will get it. I really think the idea is rather original also…which I guess is another clue. Oh well.**

**Oh, and Sam having a motorcycle is in tribute to my friend Lisette getting her permit over the summer. Except I can see Sam on a motorcycle, I can't see my friend on one. Telling us that she had gotten her permit was one of the most awesome things I've ever heard. **

**Reviews make miracles**

**Faith's melody**


	2. Stage Presence

**None of you got it. Honestly, I didn't expect you to. I just wanted to see if anyone actually would. Some of you asked if it was a band. That idea has already been taken by Greywolf. I couldn't possible do the idea justice like he did. Thank you for all the reviews. **

**Important Note! Something in this chapter may seem very familiar to a show you may have seen on TV. I promise you that I did not take the idea from there. If anything said in this chapter or in future chapters then it is a very large coincidence. **

**Disclaimer:** I don't own it.

Chapter 2-Stage Presence

Her roommate was Michelle Watson. She came from an almost non-existent town where "cows out-numbered people." She was an English major and, while she had her quirks, Sam found she enjoyed her company. She was used to being "one of the guys" and it was nice to have a friend that was a girl.

The room was surprisingly small. Most of the single-person rooms were bigger than their room. Michelle was sure, and Sam agreed with her, that the only reason it was a two person room because there were two closets. The one good thing about the room was the location. The room was situated between the main staircase and the bathroom, so, if their conversations ever got too loud, it would be harder to disturb any of the other girls when the sound traveled through the paper-thin walls.

It had been about two weeks into the semester when Michelle surprised Sam with a question as they went down to dinner.

"Are you going tonight?"

"Going? To what?"

"To Shenanigans. Haven't you seen the flyers?"

"Maybe," Sam replied as she tried to recall what one of the flyers looked like. "What exactly is Shenanigans?"

"Oh, it's great," Michelle gushed. "They're probably one of the funniest things I've ever seen! There wasn't a comedy group at your old college?"

"Comedy group?" They'd reached the cafeteria. Danny and Tucker were already there and Danny waved to them to show where they were sitting. Sam gave them a wave back and then turned back to Michelle as the two went to see what actually looked edible. "I don't believe they did. It's not exactly something I would be interested in anyway. People can be a bit immature when it comes to the content of their jokes."

Michelle shook her head. "It's nothing like that. Please say you'll come tonight, Sam?"

She was known to judge things before finding out what they were like, she thought. Sam gave a sigh. "Why not."

Michelle gave a hop of happiness before suddenly changing the subject. "So…you like Danny."

Sam stopped where she was in the cafeteria and people grouchily had to make there way around her. There was still a bit of distance between them and the table the two boys were sitting at, but there was still a chance of being overheard. "What makes you say that?"

Michelle rolled her eyes. "It's obvious. You should have some sort of arrow over your head."

Sam scowled. "He's my best friend, and he wouldn't feel that way about me." She then brushed past Michelle and sat down at the table. Michelle gave a curious smirk before joining them.



Shenanigans was always held in the Ballroom. The Ballroom was rarely used except for special occasions. It had three main doors. One went towards the front entrance to Main Hall. Another just went to the cafeteria, and the third directed you out into the hall that connected Main Hall with Chandler Hall, which was where plays were performed and the college's orchestra practiced. There was a door there that led to the outside for students to come in without having to walk all the way around.

Sam and Michelle filed in with others through the door that went to Main Hall. There were already a ton of people there. Sam spotted Tucker up towards the front, but the chairs near him had already been taken. There was an empty seat next to him, but she assumed that had been saved for Danny. The two found a seat and Sam glanced around as they waited. Up near the front, a platform had been erected and benches were placed behind it. At 8 o'clock, the kitchen had closed so nobody came from that exit and the exit to Chandler was filtering in fewer students than usual. Michelle was looking eager and Sam gave her a smile, but she couldn't mirror the girl's enthusiasm.

Five minutes later, someone stepped up onto the platform and the room erupted in loud cheers. Sam recognized the man as one of the teachers here, but she didn't have any of his classes and wasn't sure about his name.

The cheering died down and the man spoke up. "Hello, everybody. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to report to you all that…well, they all showed up."

A few laughs rolled through the crowd, but the man kept going. "I'd like to tell all of you that this is the most wonderful comedic event of all time, but, since I teach for the school, I'm sure they'd like me to be honest. Some people, as I'm sure you know, get by on their talent, good looks or charisma. The nice thing about Shenanigans is that it's proof that you don't need any of those."

A female's shoe was thrown at the man from the exit to Chandler Hall and it flew over his head as the man ducked.

"All right, all right," he conceded as he threw back the shoe. "For those that have never seen our little show, Shenanigans is an improv/comedy group. They'll be coming up here and doing small skits off the top of their heads while trying to make you laugh as much as possible. Now, I should probably introduce you to them. Our senior member: Brandon Cluff!"

Sam clapped with the others as Brandon came out. The two up front shook hands and then Brandon sat down quickly so the next one could be called.

"Our fiery red-head: Sheila Brown!

Sam perked up as Sheila came out. She'd seen Sheila around campus. The girl was popular, but not in the sense that Paulina had been. She was rather out-spoken and the way she dressed was a bit radical. She would wear twenty necklaces one day and then her arms would be laden down with bracelets the next. From what she had seen, Sam liked her.

"Danny Fenton!"

What! Sam's head snapped to the doorway as took her out of her thoughts to watch Danny run through it. Danny was a member? That didn't seem possible. But there he was, now going to sit with the other two. She turned accusing eyes on Michelle.

"Why didn't you tell me that Danny was a part of Shenanigans?"

"What? Oh, Danny! So this is where I've seen him. I kept thinking he looked familiar."

Sam stared at her. She couldn't be serious. Her expression looked genuine enough, though, and Sam gave a sigh.

"Our tallest member: Bethany Hopkins!

Bethany came out, and, with easily a height over six feet, she was probably the tallest person in the room.

"And our final member: Keith Morgan!"

Sam turned her head to look over at Danny again who was talking with Brandon. It really was him.

This was going to be an interesting night.

"And I'll just be here to tell you who will be doing what skit and what the rules are." The teacher said. Michelle had finally told Sam that his name was Professor Bouchelle. "Our first act for the evening is called Movie Genres. I'll call up two people and they'll act out a skit. I'll start it out as one genre, but it will change a few times. The two people who will be up here are Danny and Bethany. Now all we need is for you to give us something that these two could be talking about."

There were a few suggestions shouted out, but Professor Bouchelle stopped them when he heard one he liked. "Breaking up. And the genre we'll start out with is foreign film." Professor Bouchelle quickly stepped off the stage.

"You can't do this! Please!" Bethany's voice was laced with a thick accent.

Danny turned to Bethany, his voice heavily accented as well.. "Do not try to stop me. I am going. I am leaving the country and you will never see me again."

"Fine," Bethany spat back, her voice equally accented. "Go! I will not wait for you. You can leave…but you can't take the couch."

"Are you joking? This is an antique!"

"And it has been in my family for centuries. You are not taking it!"

"I have a right to it just as much as you do. We will split it then."

"Fine!"

Danny walked around an invisible couch and he pantomimed starting up a chainsaw, complete with the appropriate sound effects.

"Infomercial!" Professor Bouchelle called out for everyone to hear.

"But, hey," Danny genially started; a large smile had been plastered onto both of their faces. "Not every relationship can work out."

"That's right," Bethany joined in as Danny walked over to stand next to her. They were both now facing the audience. "Just because you have been shot down in the past doesn't mean there isn't that special someone out there."

"Heck, I may hate her guts," Danny reasoned. "But there has to be some girl out there that's just waiting for me."

"And we'd like to help you find your own special someone," Bethany intoned. "Just go to our website www . desperate . com."

"For a small fee, we guarantee we can find your true love within a year. Just have the money placed behind the McDonalds at the address being shown on your screen in a non-descript paper bag."

"After-school Special," was heard from Professor Bouchelle

And the two immediately stepped away from each other, the fake smiles gone.

"I can't do this," Danny whimpered. "I'm sorry, but I can't see you anymore."

"Why in the world not," Bethany demanded.

"I saw those cigarettes in your purse," Danny accused. "I'm sorry, but it's over."

"Now look we can work this-"

"My mom always told me to never to fall for peer pressure! You're not going to make me do it!"

"Now see here-"

"I'm not listening! I'm not listening!"

"All right, that's it! Come here, you little worm!" Bethany stalked over to Danny, who had been steadily moving away from her. "No one breaks up with me! I'm taller than you! I can kick your butt!"

Danny cowered under her and the two held that position as the room exploded with laughter and applause. Sam was laughing right along with them. Who knew Danny could think up things off the top of his head like that. Sure, he'd tried to make jokes when they were younger, but Tucker had always been the jokester in their little group. She'd expect Tucker to be up there, not Danny.

She watched as he left the platform with Bethany. This was definitely going to be an interesting night.



The game they were now playing was called Change It. Keith and Brandon were up on the platform performing a skit and Danny was off to the side, ready to yell out "Change it!" if either of the two boys said a line that he wasn't happy with.

"You should know better than to run over that pitchfork, Tom," Keith admonished.

"Change it!"

"You don't kill the chickens by running over them, Tom."

"Well, then what do you use, Jeff?" Brandon asked.

"Change it!"

"I thought it would be easier than chasing them around the yard."

"Change it!"

"Uh…." Brandon floundered around for something to say. Danny was smirking where he was perched on one of the platform's corners.

Never mind," Keith remarked. "Do you know how to change a tire?"

"Well, sure I do."

"Change it!"

"The TV showed me how."

"It's all right. You watch me as I do it."

Keith bent down and imitated replacing the tire. Finally, he stood up.

"There. That should do it."

"Change it!"

"I have no idea what I just did."

"Well, what do we do now?"

"We could…look and see if there needs to be anything fixed under the car. Why don't you look for us?"

"All right." Brandon crouched down then came back up. "I think the car lost a few things while I was driving around."

"Change it!"

"There's a bunch of orange Smurfs down there."

"We'll need to fix that then."

"Change it!"

"Mom's a great mechanic, isn't she?"

Yeah, how about we go get her to change the tire"

"Sure."

The two walked across the platform and the crowd cheered. Sam clapped along with everyone else. Michelle was right. The five had been making her laugh the whole night, especially Danny, though. It was making her see him in a completely new light. Not that he hadn't looked good in the first place…okay, bad thoughts.

"Our last act for the evening," Professor Bouchelle announced. "will be called Press Conference. Brandon will step out of the room"-Brandon obediently got up from where he was sitting and left the room, closing the doors behind him- "and, when he gets back, the other four will give him clues as to who he is. The only thing we need now is a celebrity."

A few names were shouted out. Professor Bouchelle smiled at one that caught his attention. "Mary-Kate Olsen. Okay, let's get Brandon back in here."

Brandon came back in and the other four immediately started to jump around in a cluster as soon as he stepped onto the stage, trying to get his attention.

"All right. You."

Sheila stepped forward. "What's it like to be a twin?"

"It's…very interesting. Next question."

Keith stepped up now. "You've put out a make-up line. How's is that coming along?"

"I'm very happy with the results. Someone else?"

Again Sheila spoke up. "My daughter is a huge fan of Bob Saget. Do you think you could…?"

"He'd not funny in real life, believe me." Brandon pointed to Danny.

"What's it like to be the fantasy of every teenage boy?"

The incredulous look on Brandon's face was enough to make anyone laugh. Sam nearly fell out of her chair.

"Let's…not talk about that. Moving on."

"I've been hearing you were having some weight problems…but I can see that's been cleared up."

And finally at least one of the clues seemed to click. Brandon cleared his throat after glaring at Bethany for the jab about his weight. "I think this conference is done. Speaking for the Olsen twins, there won't be any conferences for awhile."

Applause resounded of the walls of the Ballroom as Brandon turned to "leave." Sam stood up with Michelle as people started to make there way out, but Sam headed to the front of the room.

"Danny!"

"Sam? Hi!"

"Hi." She was still a little out of breath from laughing so hard, or, at least, she hoped that was reason she was suddenly out of breath.

"I didn't expect to see you here. Did you enjoy the show?"

"I loved it. Why didn't you tell me you were in something like this?"

Danny shrugged his shoulders modestly. "I don't know." From the corner of his eye he could see Tucker had struck up a conversation with Sheila-Danny expected to see his friend get slapped any minute now. Sheila was very impulsive-and the advice Tucker had said drifted to front of his mind. "Hey, it's not that late. Would you like to come over and watch a movie or something?'

Sam started to blush and she scolded herself. They'd watched movies all the time before. "Sure." She turned to Michelle, "Do you want to watch with us?"

A peculiar expression crossed Michelle's face. She gave them a large smile. "Sorry, but I have homework. Maybe next time. I'll see you later, Sam. Have fun!"

"Oh…okay. Bye, Michelle." She turned back to Danny, her stomach tied in knots as she kept her emotions with being with Danny in check. "I'm ready, I guess."

Danny gave a smile. "Then let's go."

**I'm very happy with this. It probably was what any of you were expecting, but I like it. Why don't you tell me what you think?**

**Reviews make miracles**

**Faith's melody**


	3. All Fun and Games

**I won't bore you with the details of why this wasn't updated. Just know that I am sorry for keeping you waiting. The next chapter will hopefully be up sooner.**

**Disclaimer**: Nope!

Chapter 3-All Fun and Games

The sound of balls clicking together filled the room and Tucker stood straight as he watched his ball miss the pocket and bounce away to another part of the table. Danny and Tucker were playing pool at the Student Union. Not because they were any good at it. It was just something to do to distract them from the work they had to do in their classes respectfully.

"So how's the plan going?" Tucker asked as Danny lined up for his shot.

"Plan?"

"You are still trying to get Sam to notice you, right?"

Danny grimaced. Part of it was from the question and the other part was from the lousy shot he'd just made.

"I'm about ready to give up, Tuck. I've been trying, I really have, but nothing is working. She's not acting any differently. Not even a rejection or a "Let's just be friends." sort of thing."

"Maybe you're just doing it wrong."

"Or I just can't do it at all. I'm not a flirter. I just can't go up to a girl and show her that I like her like other guys do. Sam would kick my butt if I just went up to her and started flirting. How did you convince me to do this anyway?"

"You were desperate. Okay, I can understand not being able to flirt, but what about other things. What about when you guys went over to our house to watch movies. What kind of movie did you watch?"

"I don't know."

"You don't know?"

"I was a little distracted, okay? I didn't watch that much of the movie. That was two weeks ago anyway. Why?"

"Well, if you can't flirt with her then you should probably keep trying that. Except take her out. The movie should be a romance or a good horror flick that will have her clinging to your arm."

Danny shook his head. "This is Sam we are talking about. She's not the type to start clinging to people's arms. She wouldn't be interested in the romantic movie either."

"Right. And she'll start wondering why you would pick it and what your intentions were. Perfect way for her to see you in a new light." Tucker left out the "not that isn't already head-over-heels for you." part.

Danny stared at him disbelievingly. "You're crazy! This is why you never get dates!"

"What reason would that be? His utter stupidity?"

Both boys turned to see Sam in the doorway. Sam had been the responsible one and had decided to join after getting her work done. There was a long purple case slung over her shoulder and Sam propped it up against the wall as she walked further into the room.

"Oh, ha ha," Tucker remarked sarcastically. "We'll see what you're saying when your laptop breaks down and you need someone to fix it."

"How likely is that to happen? I don't clutter my computer up with junk like pictures of pretty girls."

Danny's face went beet red in embarrassment and Sam regretted making that comment. Danny was over Paulina, but he still regretted some of his actions and how clueless he had been. He didn't like to be reminded of them, especially when he was currently trying to win Sam's heart. He promptly changed the subject.

"You going to play with us, Sam? We can just quit our game."

"It's okay. Go ahead and finish your game. I can wait."

The two boys glanced at one another. Neither of them wanted to get taunted for their lack of skill at the game. But they couldn't think of a reason not to finish the game besides the loss of their dignity.

"I think it's your shot, Danny," Tucker said, even though it was his shot.

And Danny, who's attention had been diverted at the appearance of Sam, didn't recall that fact and scowled at the cue ball as he lined up. There was silence for a few minutes as the two tried hard to sink at least one ball without success. Finally Sam spoke up.

"You're shooting too hard."

"Am not," Danny said stubbornly as he hit the cue ball solidly. It zipped across the table quickly and hit its intended target which, to the surprise of all three, went in. Danny looked triumphant for about a millisecond before the ball hit the back of the pocket with the large momentum Danny had given it and jumped into the air and landed back on the table.

Danny looked incredulously at the ball as Sam and Tucker broke out into peels of laughter. Sam grabbed onto the wall to keep herself upright. Danny gave a humored smile before laughing as well.

"Danny," Sam gasped out. "You're a complete loon. You know that, right?"

"Yeah, but you love me anyway?"

Somehow, what was supposed to be a funny quip came out a question and Danny internally swore, berating himself for it. What was he supposed to say to that?

Sam found her cheeks going red and immediately tried to push it away. She'd heard him wrong. He couldn't have meant it the way it had sounded. She had to have heard him wrong.

The room was suddenly silent as the two each tried to find something to say. Tucker glanced at the two and then looked heavenward. The two were hopeless.

"Are you sure you don't want to play with us?" Tucker broke the ice and the two visibly relaxed.

"Sure," Sam conceded. Danny quickly busied himself with gathering up all the balls. He gave Sam a quizzical look when she picked up the case she had earlier propped up against the wall.

"What's that?"

"This," Sam spoke as she opened the case and reached into get whatever lay inside. "Is my pool cue."

And then to the boys' astonishment, Sam pulled first one piece then another of her cue. It was painted a deep blood red and there were black and silver designs on the bottom.

As Sam screwed the two pieces together, Tucker subtly slid up next to Danny. "You remember Doomed?" Danny numbly nodded. "I think we're about to get our butts kicked. Again."

Danny rolled his eyes. "What was your first guess? Her obvious skill or our obvious lack thereof?"



"Sam?"

Sam turned down Forever Yours by Nightwish and turned in her chair to face her friend. Sam had been giving Michelle her space. For the past week, it had been apparent that the girl was starting to get homesick. She'd been on the phone with her family a lot more. She'd instinctually felt that it was best to not intrude on the subject.

Now Michelle was looking nervous. Her voice had been hesitant as she called out Sam's name and Sam wasn't sure what the girl wanted to ask.

"What is it, Michelle?"

"Can we…do you think…I know it might be difficult, but…maybe we could…?"

"Just spit it out, Michelle."

"Can we rearrange the room?"

The question through Sam off-guard. "What?"

"Please, Sam? I've been feeling really bad lately and this will help. It'll help calm me down. I used to do it all the time to my room when I was back at home and-"

"It's fine, Michelle. You don't need to give me reasons. Did you think I was going to say no?"

"Well, not exactly, but I…."

"It's fine. But, Michelle, our room is so small. I don't think our furniture will plausibly fit any other way."

Michelle's face lit up with a smile. "I already thought of that. And my idea will work, I know it will. All we have to do, after we separate the beds, is-"

"Hold on. Separate the beds?" The two had bunk beds and something crossed Sam's mind. "Michelle neither of us are that strong. How do you expect us to be able to lift the bed successfully without either of us getting hurt in the process?"

Doubt flickered on Michelle's face. "Um…we could ask someone? I know! You could ask Danny and Tucker to help us."

Sam gave a sigh. She could tell that Michelle really needed to do this for whatever reason. It was just another quirk that she was finding out about her. "All right, Michelle. I'll ask them."



"Are all the rooms this small?"

Sam immediately elbowed Tucker hard in the ribs. "No. Michelle and I are the only ones who get the pleasure."

"I'm sure there's a room that is smaller," Danny reasoned. He was looking at the things on Sam's desk and the posters that were on her side of the wall. He gave a smile. This was definitely Sam's room.

"Let's just get to work." Sam's face softened a little. "Thank you guys for helping. This really means a lot to Michelle. She's homesick."

"So she rearranges rooms when she's homesick?"

"Shut it, Tucker. We're glad to help, Sam. Where is she?"

I think she went to return a Math book he's been borrowing from a friend. Her book hasn't come in yet."

"But it's already weeks into the semester," Tucker pointed out.

"Are you going to make stupid comments all night? Maybe the shipping company lost her order or it just got lost in the mail. I think she'll try to order another one soon."

"What are we talking about?" Michelle asked as she finally stepped into the room.

"Nothing, really. What did you want to do first?" Danny inquired.

"We'll need to separate the beds first. That's what you're here for."

"Okay."

It took a bit of time. Michelle had to move her dresser first so there would be room for the other bed and then separating the beds was awkward since neither of the girls had that much upper body strength. Danny and Tucker did most of the work. The two boys stayed to help the girls move the other furniture. By the time it was the way Michelle wanted it, all were a little exhausted.

"Michelle glanced around at there new room. "I like it."

"So do I," Sam admitted. "I didn't think we would be able to get everything to fit comfortably."

"Have you done this a lot, Michelle?" Tucker asked.

"Every now and then. It helps me work of stress."

"I think I worked off something else," Danny joked. "Who needs exercise equipment when you have furniture?"

"Right," Tucker snidely remarked. "Like you need to exercise."

Sam gave a chuckle. "True."

Michelle gave them confused looks. "This some inside joke?"

"Danny gave a smile. "You could call it that."

**Not that much happened in this chapter. I wanted to delve into their college life a little, though**.

**Sam's pool cue is in reality my pool cue. It looks exactly the way I described it here and I love it. I can just imagine Sam being a pool shark. And ironically, my pool cue is named Chaos. Yes, I named my pool cue.**

**There will be more Shenanigans in the next chapter I promise. **

**And Nightwish rocks! **

**Reviews make miracles**

**Faith's melody**


	4. Testing the Boundaries

**A few things I should probably mention.**

**I just realized that the McDonalds I mentioned in chapter two should be called the Nasty Burger instead. Oops. I change that.**

**I had a reviewer ask me to have Danny fight ghosts. I will not be doing this in this story. There will not be any action in this story. I labeled the story appropriately. If you would like action then please check out my other stories like Eagleheart.**

**So I make this clear, this story will span over the whole college semester. Pretend that for every chapter a couple of weeks have gone by. I'm merely pointing out the parts that are of importance. For the above note, pretend that for those few weeks between chapters Danny is fighting ghosts.**

**And you know how I promised more Shenanigans in this chapter. Um…well, there aren't any. I'm sorry. It just felt like a good place to stop it ther and I'm afraid that I'm going to run out of material.**

**Disclaimer:** No.

Chapter 4-Testing the Boundaries

Sam collided with Danny as she came out of her classroom a little bit faster than normal. She'd been excited because usually her class caused to unfortunately miss lunch. His arms went out to steady her so she didn't stumble and accidentally hit someone else. He gave her a smile. "Hi, Sam."

"Danny?" She looked up at him and returned the smile.

"I thought you had a class at this time?"

"It got cancelled. Our teacher is at home sick."

"That's awesome!" She gave him a questioning look and he stuttered out, "Not that your teacher is sick. That you get out of class."

"Right." Her smile was teasing.

"If you don't have class then maybe you could come to lunch with me and Tucker. We're getting sick of the food in the cafeteria.

"Sure. Can I ask Michelle if she would like to come?"

"I'm sure she's as sick of the cafeteria as we are. I have to go get Tucker. Go get Michelle and we'll pick you two up at the front of Main Hall."



The two actually weren't late and Sam and Michelle climbed in when Danny pulled up in his car.

"So where are we going?" Michelle asked.

"Nasty Burger," Tucker retorted.

"Nasty Burger?" Sam asked, a little put off.

"Real food," Danny put in.

"You consider Nasty Burger 'real food?'"

Danny glanced at Sam through the rear-view mirror. "Compared to the stuff in the cafeteria? Yeah."

Sam rolled her eyes, but then she gave him a smile. Their eyes locked for a few seconds before Danny finally forced his away, telling himself to watch the road and not the beautiful girl in the backseat.

"So how are classes, Michelle?" Tucker inquired.

"Pretty good." She glanced over at Danny. "Have you done the reading for history yet?"

"The Machiavelli thing? Not yet."

"You're reading Machiavelli?" Sam asked, her distaste evident.

"Yeah," Michelle answered. "What's wrong?"

"I just don't like his ideas. Ugh! I swear he must be some ancestor of Paulina."

"Who's Paulina?" Michelle asked.

And on cue, as soon as Paulina was mentioned Danny's face went red again. He still couldn't believe how stupid he had been. Chasing after Paulina when Sam had been right there….

"She was the popular girl where we went to school back in Amity Park," Tucker explained.

"She was also one of the shallowest people I've ever seen," Sam said, grumbling at just the thought of her.

"Aah." Michelle nodded. "I had one of those at my school. She was actually friendly to me. I wasn't impressed with some of the things she did, though. Did all the boys go after Paulina, too?"

"Could we perhaps change the subject?" Danny asked nervously.

Sam sent him an apologetic smile. "Most of them," she conceded. "But some of them wised up. The smart ones."

The nervousness started to fade as they locked eyes again. He smiled back at her as he stopped at an intersection.

" Right, change of subject. Do you remember what chapters we had to read for history?" Michelle asked.

"16 through…." A loud obnoxious noise from behind cut him off and everyone cringed. The light had changed and Danny had been ready to pull out, but it obviously wasn't fast enough for the driver behind them. He had abruptly honked his horn to get them to move.

Danny did the opposite. The other three looked on questioning as Danny quickly turned the car off. He then got out of the car and innocently faced the driver. "What?"

The driver rolled down his window, scowling at Danny. "What are you doing? Get back in the car!"

Danny leaned against his car. "But you honked your horn. You got my attention before I could go anywhere. I thought you wanted to talk."

The man's face reddened. "Drive, you lunatic!"

Danny shrugged calmly. "Okay. But if you ever do want to talk, just give another honk." The three in the car were trying hard to suppress their laughter as Danny got back in and started the car.

"That was great!" Michelle exclaimed before given in to her giggles.

Danny grinned and shrugged. "Hopefully, it'll teach him to be a little more patient with others."

"Hey," Tucker pointed to the building coming up. "There's the Nasty Burger." Danny nodded and pulled in.



"So what's it like to live in Amity Park?" Michelle asked. "I mean, with all the ghosts."

Sam picked at her salad. "We got by." She gave the standard response. "We tried not to let it worry us too much."

"But it must have been stressful," Michelle prodded.

The three glanced at each other and smiled. "We got by," Danny repeated Sam's comment.

Michelle glanced at three perceptively. "This is another inside joke, isn't it? You guys have been through a lot haven't you?"

"Nothing much besides the ghost attacks. We had fights, there was the occasional-"

"Fake-out, make-"

"No, Tucker," Danny warned. "Michelle doesn't need to know about that."

"Really? Can I tell her about the second fake-out-Hey!"

"Excuse me," Danny replied to the girls as he dragged Tucker from his chair. "I need to borrow him for a minute."

Michelle turned a baffled stare to Sam as Danny pulled Tucker away from the table. "What was that about?"

"Nothing," Sam assured her. She didn't need Michelle teasing her about this, too.

Michelle shrugged it off before giving Sam a teasing smile. "So what are you going to do about Danny?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I know you liked him, Sam. Don't play dumb. Now, what are you going to do about it?"

"Nothing." Sam went back to her salad.

"Nothing? What do you mean 'nothing?'"

"Just what it sounds like. Danny doesn't like me like that, so I'm just going to ignore it until it goes away."

Michelle rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak, but glanced upwards instead. Two boys had stopped at their table and were now looking everywhere, but at them. One spoke to the other, his voice just a little too loud. "Well, this looks like a good place to sit." The two sat down in Danny and Tucker's vacated chairs. They glanced up as if on cue, their expressions completely innocent, and then just seemed to notice them across the table. "Oh, hello."

Michelle was about ready to laugh at loud. Sam was giving them similar disbelieving looks. Of all the ways to have a girl notice you…but an idea suddenly struck her and she glanced at Sam one last time as she started speaking.

"Um, hello. Those chairs are-"

"Taken," Michelle interrupted. Sam gave her a weird look since she was going to say that. There was no reason to interrupt, but Michelle kept going. "You should probably leave. Her boyfriend can get pretty jealous."

Sam's jaw went slack. Boyfriend? Okay, Michelle had gone too far this time.

"Who's this?" Sam looked up to see Danny standing there.



"I don't need you spouting stuff off like that." Danny finished his rant. He had dragged them off to the hallway that led to the bathrooms to have at least a little privacy as he chastised his friend.

Tucker shrugged. "I was just trying to help you. I thought mentioning the fake-out make-outs would let you gauge Sam's reaction about them. I want you two together just as much as you do. I'm sick of this game you've created between each other of who can blush and look away the fastest."

Danny paused. He hadn't thought of that, but dismissed it immediately. "But mentioning it like that will only make her embarrassed."

"Maybe. You never know." Tucker glanced over Danny's shoulder. "Who's that at the table with Sam and Michelle?"

"What?" Danny turned around to see the two boys sitting in their vacated chairs. Something clicked in him. Some sort of defense system that he didn't know he had. Suddenly his legs were moving towards the table, Tucker following behind.

"Who's this?" His voice sounded different. There was a subtle undertone that he didn't recognize. Or maybe he did, he just didn't remember ever personally using it.

"I told you he got jealous," Michelle said with a smile, thoroughly enjoying this.

The look on Danny and Sam's faces were priceless. Tucker nearly burst into fits of laughter. From behind Danny he gave a thumbs up to a very smug Michelle. Both Danny and Sam were staring at her. Danny showed a look of bafflement while Sam's face had blanked, but her eyes were still wide as saucers. Across the table, the two boys looked somewhat crestfallen and fearful of Danny. Finally, Sam acted and pushed away her salad, standing up.

"I have a class at one. Are you ready to go?"

Her question was aimed at both of them, but she would only look at Tucker. Michelle stood up on cue. "I'm ready." She still had a large smile on her face. Sam was going to smack her.

Sam finally faced Danny after Tucker nodded. "Danny? Ready to go?"

"Um…um…." His mind was still wrapped around Michelle's jealous comment. Was he jealous? He knew he liked Sam, but he never figured he would become jealous because of it. Had Sam noticed? And what did Michelle mean by that comment in the first place?

He finally snapped out of it. "Yeah, we can go." He searched himself to make sure he had his keys and wallet before following Sam who had already started to swiftly head towards the door. Tucker and Michelle followed behind, having some unspoken conversation among them.

Michelle finally turned at the door. "Bye!" She called to the two boys who hadn't even gotten far enough to introduce themselves before heading out the door.

**For those that do not get the Machiavelli reference, Machiavelli lived around the Renaissance and wrote a book called The Qualities of the Prince. The book gives a lot of strategic and military advice, but there is a part in the book where Machiavelli explains how a prince should act. One of Machiavelli's basic point is that as long as a prince looks as if he as virtuous and redeeming qualities then it is okay if deep down he follows none of them. It's okay as long as he appears good and like the perfect ruler. Basically he's telling everyone to go ahead and be hypocrites. I despise Machiavelli and just had to vent. What better way then to put it in a chapter.**

**So how was it? I had fun writing it. I'd like to hear your thoughts. Promise with all my heart that there will be more Shenanigans in the next chapter. In fact, It'll be the first thing you read. Promise.**

**Reviews make miracles.**

**Faith's melody**


	5. A Little Comic Relief

**Notes and Apologies: You will not believe how awful I feel for making you guys wait so long for this. For some reason, this chapter just woul not write itself. Even thought I've had this scene in my head for forever. I'm sorry it was so slow. Please do not yell or throw rotten fruit or stone me or any other act that will bause the delay of the next chapter. I will have it out as soon as possible. It's the last chapter too and I think you guys would like the end.**

**I'm also apologizing for how serious this chapter is. This is a funny story, but Danny and Sam's relationship can't simply be based on laughs. **

**There's only two Shenanigan games in this chapter. I did promise, I gave it to you. But there's another Shenanigans performance in the next chapter and I'm saving a lot of things for the finale. I hope you enjoy this. **

**Disclaimer:** I'm starting to believe why you guys might think I own this wonderful show. My chapters come out about as infrequently as a new episode. But I assure you I don't. I'm just lazy. Sorry.

Chapter 5-A Little Comic Relief

"Our next game," Professor Bouchelle said as he climbed back on the stage "is called Cards. Our two Shenanigans, who will be Danny and Sheila, will be given slips of paper that will have different phrases on them. They'll have to use these intermittently throughout the skit. All we need is a situation."

Danny and Sheila climbed up onto the stage as Professor Bouchelle listened for an idea that he liked. Finally, he grinned and turned towards the two, pointing to Sheila. "You're his mother and you're on your deathbed."

Sheila glanced around. "I'm supposed to be on my deathbed standing up?"

"Here." Danny had already jumped down and grabbed his chair, lifting it onto the stage.

"Thanks." Sheila dragged it over to the center of the stage while Danny got back on and Professor Bouchelle left, signaling that they could start anytime.

As son as she was seated, Danny took Sheila's hands in his. "You're going to get better. I promise."

"I don't have much time left," Sheila wavered out. "Tell me, John, what are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking," Danny quickly put a hand in his pocket and pulled out one of the slips of paper. "The thought that's going through my mind is 'If I could turn back time.' Hey that works!" Danny cried, astonished, getting a laugh as he quickly composed himself.

"That's nice, dear. I want you tell the others," Sheila fished out one of her own pieces of paper. "Tell them for me that 'Yea, verily, I say unto you that ye have no hope.'"

"I tell them that. In fact, I have a message from them. It says….'Are you drunk, or are you always like this?'"

"You all never did respect me! You're the only that came to see me, and I'm sure it was out of pity. Let me tell you…let me tell you…'If you weren-" Sheila broke out into laughter. She tried to gain her composure as she said the next line. "'If you weren't my mother'…"

"What!" Danny jerked back from her, appalled. "You've been lying to me all these years?"

"Now let me explain-"

"No! I don't want to hear it!" Danny stomped away from her to the edge of the stage. "I'm leaving. And I'm leaving you with the words that my last girlfriend gave to me before she left me. She said…." Danny fished the last slip of paper out of his pocket. "Paper or plastic." I'm not sure what she meant, but I'm sure it was insulting!"

Sam burst out laughing along with everyone else. Michelle was leaning heavily against her on one side while Tucker was almost in tears on the other. She watched as the skit finished soon after that and Professor Bouchelle climbed back up to start another game. She glanced over where Danny was now sitting down. He caught her glance and gave her a smile which she returned before paying more attention to what was o happening on the stage when another Shenanigan got his attention.



They were playing Movie Genres again. Bethany and Sheila were up on stage ready to start with the situation that "They were trying to kill someone."

All right, now you got the rat poison, right?" Bethany asked conspiratorially.

"Yeah, I got it."

"Here's what we do. We slip small amounts of the poison into the food the cafeteria serves. They'll all die within a few months."

"But," Sheila questioned. "What about those that don't eat in the cafeteria?"

"Good point," Bethany mused. "We'll have to find some other means for them."

"Horror," came the call.

Sheila stepped back in fright. "You're not my friend! You're that hideous…swamp creature that they've been warning us about on the news. I told Kate! I told her that whenever you that ominous music they play in old movies that it's not a good sign, but does she listen? No!"

Bethany used her height to her advantage as she lifted her arms over her head to tower over the other girl. She gave out a roar and stomped after Sheila when the girl ran to the other side of the stage.

"Pl-please don't kill me!" Sheila stuttered out. "Kill anyone else, but not me!"

""Musical!" The two girls immediately straightened at Professor Bouchelle's call from the position they had been in with Bethany leaning over Sheila who had been cowering.

"Ohm we're taking over the world!" Bethany mock-sang, her arms flung out wide.

"But taking over the world," Sheila sang in what Sam guessed was probably the worst faked soprano she had ever heard…and that was only because she'd hopefully never hear Tucker try to sing soprano. "Is not the easiest thing to do!" The girl did a small dance maneuver around Bethany and somersaulted across the stage.

"But we plot, and we plan," Bethany cut in.

"And soon everyone will be doomed!"

There was a pause from the two girls as the next call came. "Shakespearean!"

Sheila immediately shifted from having her arms joyously up in the air into a much more dramatic pose. "For the sun no longer sheds its precious light upon he and now," Sheila stepped forward to the stages edge. "I bid the world farewell. There is no reason to stay, and I will now jump-eth off this cliff-eth!"

"Nay, nay," Bethany called. "Stay! Help me to rid the world of others! Not thyself!"

"I cannot. If you will not have me have me jump-eth then I will drink poison or end my by some other means."

"Please do not. Help me kill the world instead." Bethany tried to reason again.

"But," Sheila exclaimed. "All the world is a stage!"

There was a burst of laughter and Sheila and Bethany left the stage. The laughter died down when Professor Bouchelle climbed back on. He gave Sheila a smile. "I didn't know "cliff-eth" was a word."

"You obviously aren't as cultured as Sheila, Bouchelle." Danny called from his seat next to her.

Obviously not. All right, our next game will have Brandon, Keith, and Bethany and they will be…."



Sam sat in Michelle's car at around eleven at night in an empty parking lot in the middle of town. It was the very end of Spring Break. Classes were tomorrow, but the two were in parking lot to pick up someone. One of Michelle's friends that Sam didn't know was coming back from home by bus. The town had no real bus stop. A bench where people sat and waited was the only indication of where the bus stopped. It wasn't that far away from the school, but it was eleven at night. Michelle had offered the girl a ride back up to the school and when she had asked, Sam had agreed to accompany her.

She hadn't gone home like Michelle had. Michelle had been confused as to why Sam wouldn't want to.. Even more when Sam refused to explain the atrocities that her parents tried to force upon her. It was her quarrel with her parents. She didn't like to talk about her parents much if at all in the first place anyway.

At eleven at night, the city was shutting down. The bus was only arriving this late because the girl lived eight hours away. Sam gazed out the window in the front passenger seat, staring down the road where the bus was supposed to come from. The bus was already late and Sam was wondering how much longer it would be.

And then a car drove past. A dark feeling feel on Sam as she watched the man look over at their car at it drove on until it was out of sight. She pushed the feeling away until the same car drove past them the other way. The same lone driver looking at them as he past. It finally hit Sam what kind of trouble they might me in. Two young girls in an empty parking lot at eleven at night where no one would be the wiser that they were there. Except Michelle's friend who was expecting them to be there when she finally arrived. But the bus was till no one in sight and it was now edging to twenty minutes past now.

Sam heard the car start up and looked over at Michelle who was quickly starting to pull out of the parking spot they were in.

"You saw him, too?"

She nodded. "And I felt it." It wasn't clear what she meant, but Sam had an idea that it might be the dark feeling of warning that had enveloped her. The same feeling that was telling her to run.

They were out of the parking lot, crossing the main street and going down another darker street with houses on each side in less than a minute. Sam had noticed as they crossed the street the same car making a U-turn in the empty street. She saw the silhouette of the man looking down at them.

She could physically feel the car speed up under her as they sped down the road. She glanced back behind them to see the car turning down the street and following them. Michelle turned down another street. They were now heading towards the college. But would that help? What if he followed them there?

"What about your friend? What if she finally comes and we aren't there?"

"We need to worry about ourselves at the moment," was Michelle's stressed reply. They were already heading up the hill to the school. Glancing down, she could see the car on the road below them. But then they were turning and she couldn't see if he had turned to speed up the hill after them.

Sam had a feeling Michelle was trying to loose their pursuer. They went the long way around the school until she finally parked in spaces at the back of Main Hall. The two slots that were there were for the security that worked there. One of the security's cars was there and Michelle maneuvered into the vacant spot. The spot was parallel with the wall that was there. The wall that the kitchen's was in jutted out at an odd angle. Michelle wouldn't be able to back out straight. Sam frowned at this. If they needed to get out of there fast for some reason, they wouldn't be able to.

Michelle was breathing heavily next to them. "What do we do?" She finally asked.

"I'll go see if the security guard is there." Sam said calmly. It was a good suggestion, but, to Sam's dismay, no one was there at the front desk.

When she got back to the front desk, Michelle was looking around wildly. When she told Michelle that the desk was empty, her friend paled even more. "What if he went back!" She exclaimed still looking around them. "What id he goes back and Shannon is there waiting for us?"

Sam frowned. It was a possibility. "Calm down, Michelle. We…just need to find someone to go down with us. Do you know anyone who is definitely here?"

Michelle gulped in air as she tried to calm down. Finally, she shook her head. "No one. Do you?"

The answer came quickly. "Danny. You know where he lives. I'll call him while we go there."

Danny had stayed behind also. Shenanigans had wanted to have a practice yesterday for an upcoming performance and instead of having to drive up sooner than most of the students had just stayed for the week. He'd also said that it would help him to concentrate on some work he needed to do over the break. Sam wasn't sure if he really had gotten any work done, but was happy for the company. Tucker was still not there. He was driving up tomorrow morning and would arrive right before classes started. Said he didn't want to have to be at school anymore than he had to.

Sam had her cell phone out when she was suddenly jolted around in her seat. "Michelle! What are you doing!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Sam's bit back her retort when she saw how shook up Michelle was. Michelle had backed up into the wall that jutted out behind them in her panic. She grabbed the girl. "Michelle we're going to be fine. We're safe for the moment. Shannon will be safe, I promise. For all we know he's long gone. Calm down. You can't drive like this."

"Michelle took quite a few calming breaths before she nodded that she was fine. She had stopped shaking also and Sam let her go. Michelle backed out smoothly now and both girls could see the mark where the brick red paint of the building and been scraped away to show the white stone beneath. Sam finally brought her mind back to what she was supposed to be doing and dialed Danny's number.



Samurai by The Michael Schenker Group was blasting through Danny's headphones when there was a sudden movement in his jeans' pocket. The movement right against his leg and sending tingles throughout his body surprisingly quickly.

He gave a startled cry and tried to lurch away from whatever it was. Unfortunately, this caused him to slip out of his chair and the headphones were torn of his head and he fell to the floor.

Danny gave a mumbled curse as his brain finally registered what the thing was and he dug inside his picket for his vibrating cell phone. Who would be calling him at eleven-thirty at night?

"Hello?"

"Danny? Hi. Can I ask a favor?"

"Sam?" Danny adjusted his grip on the phone as he stood up. "Um, sure you can. What do you need?"

"Could you come with us for just a minute to pick up someone at the bus stop?'

An odd request. There wasn't any harm in it and he'd do almost anything for Sam. But there was something wrong. Something she wasn't telling him. "Sure. When should I expect you?"

"Actually…we just pulled up to your house." He glanced out the window at the front lawn where a car had indeed just pulled up. The front passenger door opened and he watched Sam climb out. He squinted suspiciously as his normally calm and collected friend glanced down the street both ways fearfully. Something was wrong.

"I'll be right down."



Danny sat in the front where Sam, who was now sitting silently in the back, had originally been, listening to Michelle recount the events that had transpired between the two girls.

Danny's eyes were wide. To think that some guy had…He guessed he should have been so surprised. You heard about cases like this all the time on the news. But to think that it had happened to Sam….

"There she is," Michelle breathed out, relieved.

Shannon stood there on the corner, shivering in the chilly night air. She smiled when she saw them, but her expression turned to confusion when the car stopped and Danny was one of the first people to get out. He introduced himself and quickly picked up a suitcase to put in the truck that Michelle had opened from her position in the front seat, the car still running and waiting to go as soon as possible.

Sam was outside also, looking around for any sign of the man or his car that had pursued them to the college. There was a less than likely chance of him trying something now that Danny was here, but Sam was starting to feel a delayed reaction to the night's events. This wasn't like the times where she had risked her life fighting ghosts with Sam and Tucker. Neither had been there and with the implications of what that man could have done to them…if they hadn't seen him and he had taken them by surprise... There hadn't been anyone else to see what would have happened and they were so far from home.

Sam's body shook and she felt tears spring to her eyes. What was this? She didn't cry! But her body went against her rebellious thoughts and Danny looked up to see a tear fall down and shine in the light of a passing car as Sam's head whipped around to follow it.

"Sam? Are you okay?"

"I-I'm fine, Danny. Never better. Are all the bags in?"

Danny wasn't buying it. Sam could try to act strong and tough, but what had happened tonight had scared him, too. What if he had lost her? Sam looked surprised as Danny shocked her by embracing her in a hug.

"I'm sorry, Sam. I should have been there."

"It's not your fault."

"But I'm going to be there from now on, Sam. No one is going to hurt you, Sam. I won't let them."

The shaking in her body stopped almost immediately. Danny's words had a calming effect. "Danny, I-"

"Shhh. Come on." Taking her hand they went back to the car and climbed in the back. Shannon was in the process of telling Michelle about her break and what exciting things had happened.

Danny didn't let go of Sam's hand for the whole ride up to the college.


	6. The Curtain Closes

**I really am sorry for the hiatus I've been in. I'm forcing myself out of my slump, so you should be expecting more updates from me in the future. But for now, here's the last chapter of Shenanigans. I hope you all enjoy.**

Chapter 6-The Curtain Closes

For once, the Shenanigans performance was not held in the Ballroom. An ice cream parlor had been opened down in the town, and, to attract customers, the owners had found live entertainment during the week of their opening. Shenanigans had been scheduled for that Wednesday.

The ice cream parlor, Alexander's, seemed to be out of an old movie. The way the place was furnished and the antiques set up around the store from years past that were barely seen anymore gave the store an old fashioned feel to it. Sam was enjoying the atmosphere of the place and the people here were very nice. It was owned and run by a family who had a daughter that went up to the college. There was even a small screen on one of the walls where old movies were played. At the moment, though, that had been turned off for the Shenanigans performance happening right then.

"Once last announcement I have before we start is that our Shenanigans' member Keith Morgan is transferring to another college. This will be his last performance with us."

There were many shouts of surprise and indignation. Loudest of all of them was Brandon's. "And he's a stinking traitor for it!"

"Why?" The question came from someone is the audience.

"Yes, Keith, tell them why." Bethany's voice was laced with false innocence.

"Oh, you know….Ferrell is great, but I felt that I would benefit more on an educational perspective by searching out what others-"

"The traitor's going away to find a girl," Danny deadpanned.

Professor Bouchelle waited for the laughter to die down then started again. "Yes, well, we're dedicating this performance to Keith since it is his last. On that note, we'd like to get started. Our first game will be Props. And for Props we'll have Brandon and Danny and Bethany and Keith." Professor Bouchelle stepped off the stage and Sheila ran up to give them their props.

Bethany and Keith were given some lace which had wire running through it, shaping it into a cone with a device at the top that let the cone expand and contract.

Danny and Brandon were only given two boards. They glanced at each other when Professor Bouchelle motioned them to start. Each held one board awkwardly in their hands and finally Danny spoke, raising the board in his hands up a little higher as he spoke to Brandon. "I don't see how we're going to make a band with this kind of equipment."

There were quite a few laughs and several people who were in line for ice cream craned their necks around to see what was going on. There were a few laughs as Bethany and Keith used their prop to play badminton with their hands.

It went back to Danny and Brandon. Brandon held up the two boards, now arranged in a right triangle. "Now let's try this again. This is a right angle."

Danny stared at it. "I still don't get it."

"Yeah, it's not funny either."

This brought on laughter which grew when the audience looked over to the other two. Bethany and Keith are crouched down close together holding up the cone as if it's raining, when the small prop wouldn't have kept them dry at all. Sam shook her head. Even with the poor props, they were trying, at least. She looked back over to Danny and Brandon.

The two boys had laid the two boards down on the ground in a line. Danny turned to Brandon. "Well, when he said he was bored stiff, I didn't know he meant literally."

There were a few chuckles, but it was obvious the boys had exhausted all the creative wit they could for their small excise for a prop. Attention went back to Bethany and Keith.

Bethany was hunched down low as if pretending not to be there. Her hand was raised with the prop and she was waving it around as she moved across her half of the stage like a child would with a toy airplane. Keith was off to the side, making noises that the aforementioned child would make while playing with his toy. Finally, as Bethany circled around to cross the stage again, Keith exclaimed, "The best science-fiction movie ever!"

That got loud laughs from everyone who turned to applause as Professor Bouchelle took pity on them and let them sit down.

"Our next game is called Slideshow. Brandon will be a story out of the poses that Sheila, Bethany and Danny will be making. Keith will turn off the light…if that's okay…."

One of the owner's of Alexander's that was working behind the register gave a nod and he continued. "Will turn off and on the lights and Brandon will describe what is happening with the poses the three will come up with. All we need is a location for somewhere people go for vacation." Several places were shouted out from the audience. "Las Vegas. Ready, guys?" Keith and Brandon gave a nod from their respective places standing in the middle of the crowd and next to the light switch. Professor Bouchelle stepped off the stage, leaving the other three on, and the lights went out.

There was scuffling on the stage in the darkness. When the lights went back on, a few chuckles were heard, but most everyone turned to Brandon who was still standing in the audience to see what he would say.

"I'm so happy that all of you could join me tonight to go over a few choice clips of my vacations. I've dearly enjoyed the last twelve hours together." This brought on quite a few chuckles. "Here, you'll see my vacation last summer at Las Vegas. There, you'll see me looking for a hotel." He pointed to Danny, who was standing in the middle of the two girls, a hand was held over his eyes as a visor against the sun.

"My wife is on my left." This was directed at Bethany, who was hunched down in an old woman's posture by Danny's knee. "She was about fifty years my senior. We had a very…odd relationship."

"Finally, he pointed to Sheila. She stood more to the front of the stage. Her arms were locked at the elbow and went upward, her hands splayed near her neck to frame her smiling face. "And there you see Mr. Wayne Newton, ready to belt out a wonderful song for his audiences. His singing was one of the main reasons I went to Las Vegas."

The lights went off to Brandon's signal. The next time they went on, the restaurant was deafened for a moment in laughter. Danny was now next to Sheila, holding her face in a gesture that he was going to kiss her. Sheila's eyes were wide and her arms were flung out in obvious surprise. Bethany was in the back, looking around conspiratorially with her hands as guns.

"I decided on wanted my picture in the paper. And it was! I snuck backstage after one of Mr. Newton's performances. I snuck past Mr. Newton's bodyguard, who you see in the background, and approached Mr. Newton when I knew the right attention would be on us."

There was about three seconds between the time the lights went on and off. Danny was leaning back in fear and Sheila had a hold of his shirt, her other arm drawn back as if to punch him. Bethany was in the middle of angrily flinging herself at Danny. "Wayne Newton wasn't happy with that picture it seemed. In fact, instead of sending his skilled bodyguard after me, he pursued me out of the building when I fled. Which brings me to the next slide." The lights went out.

The next time the next time light flooded the room; Danny and Bethany were on all fours around Sheila whose pose was very statue-esque. Bethany's head was lowered towards the stage while Danny's was raised with a curious expression.

"I decided I wanted to be a frog. You see, I'd jumped into one of the many fancy fountains Las Vegas has to escape Mr. Newton and his bodyguard. The water was very nice, much nicer than the five-star hotel room I had. I was soon joined by a nice young man who had jumped in to take some of the coins at the bottom. Who knew that Jumping inside the fountain was illegal, though? They should really put signs up or something."

Off and on the lights went and Danny was now seen on his back, desperately grabbing onto Sheila's shirt that was leaning over him. Bethany was down where his feet should be. Said feet were locked at the ankles and placed over one of Bethany's shoulders. Bethany was grasping onto Sheila's feet in panic.

"Unfortunately, Wayne Newton and his bodyguard got wind of my arrest and took action. I was knocked out, tied up with chains, beaten and then had cement blocks strapped to my feet. I think they were going to drown me. But I decided that if I was going down then I was taking Wayne Newton with me! His body guard was so worried about Mr. Newton's safety that I was able to slip out of my bonds and get away. With that, I'd decided I'd had enough excitement for one vacation and headed to the airport."

The restaurant was blanketed in darkness again and the next time the lights went on, Danny sat in the middle of the stage meditating. Bethany and Sheila were to the side. Bethany stood directly behind Sheila and each girl had their arms out wide to suggest they were airplanes. The girls' arms were out diagonally, one going one way and the other going the other direction to make a cross.

"After abandoning my wife at one of Las Vegas' many casinos, I headed to the airport. Of course, I could have taken a regular airplane, but there were so many choices I could have chosen. I sat down to meditate on it. Finally, after much deliberation, I had to go with the plane from Star Wars. Hopefully while going home I wouldn't encounter any enemy fire. And that was my vacation in Las Vegas. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen, for coming to my lovely home."

The lights went on as loud cheering filled the room. All five Shenanigans made their way to a seat on the benches laid out for them at the back of the stage while Professor Bouchelle went to introduce the next game.

"Our next game will be Cards. This will be played by Keith and Danny. They will have slips of paper in their pockets which they must use during the skit. We need a situation, though."

Several things were shouted out, but a shout from the back caught others' attention and soon most of the room was shouting it to Keith's chagrin. Professor Bouchelle smiled. "College Orientation, it is," he said, before stepping off.

Danny immediately started, going up to Keith with an outstretched arm. "Hi. I'm Keith Morgan. I'm a transfer student here."

Keith shook his hand eagerly. "Hello, Keith. I'm Stan, your orientation leader. I'll be showing you all the ins and outs of the campus."

"Really? That's great! I've been looking really forward to coming here."

"Well, we're happy to have you. And as your orientation leader, I think I need to tell you first that 'the pizza boys are hot.'"

"Oh…well, thank you."

"No problem. Where did you transfer from, Keith?"

"Ferrell University. I didn't really fit in there. I was a loser. People would go around pointing fingers and saying 'Foolish child, you are weird!'" Sam watched Danny's face seize up. He was trying so hard not to laugh.

"Oh, so you came from FU. Keith emphasized the acronym and several chuckles rang out. It's a nice place, I suppose."

"Yeah, I guess. I'm going to be truthful. I came here to find myself a girlfriend. I could never get one back at my old college. I don't think I'll have that much luck here either, though."

"No, no, no! I'm sure you'll find someone. In fact, when you past by that group of girls over there, I heard one of them whisper 'Whatever you do, don't touch that,'"

"They said that?"

"Yeah, but I wouldn't get down about it. There are plenty of other girls here."

"I guess. Hey, can I tell you something in secret?"

"Sure, you can!"

"Okay. I'm telling you this because I hope we can be friends." Danny reached in and brought out another slip of paper and Sam watched his face blank. "'Danny Fenton is so hot!'"

"That's nice to know. I don't really know him, though, so he can't be that important. But now I'd like to tell you something as a friend." Keith looked down at the slip of paper he had taken out and everyone watched him give it the evil eye. He finally choked out. "'You're the only girl for me.'"

"Oh, well, the only thing I can think to say to that would be…'I'm going to break you like a window!'"

"No, calm down. I still have to help you. It's my job. Let's see…you'll go over to the building west of here to see your faculty advisor. You're going to walk in, and the first thing he'll tell you is 'I was a chipmunk in my past life!'"

"Thanks. Anything else I need to do?"

"Well, after visiting your faculty advisor, you'll go all the way to the other end of campus to listen to an hour long talk. Then, you come all the way back here to fill out three hours worth of paperwork. Finally, you'll go to your resident assistant and he'll help you get settled in for about five more hours."

"Wow. Wouldn't it be better for me to fill out the paperwork first?"

"Nah, that's too easy on you. I have to go help other bright youthful freshman, but I'll be seeing you around."

"All right. Thank you, Stan!"

"You're welcome. I was happy to do it, Keith. You look like a fine young man."

The room erupted in laughter and applause as the two boys headed back to sit down and the professor stepped back up. "That was certainly interesting. I don't think we'll have Danny write the papers anymore."

"I didn't!"

Professor Bouchelle looked back at the five. "Then I don't think I want to know who wrote them."



"Our last game for the night is called Party Quirks. We'll have Keith step out of the room and then give the others a quirk that he must guess when he comes back. Any questions?"

There were none and Keith was sent out of the ice cream parlor. Professor Bouchelle spoke up again. "I know we usually would have you all give us the quirks. But tonight we have these envelopes with specific quirks for our four Shenanigans. First, Bethany." The room quieted down as Bethany stepped forward. "You are a mail-order wife." She took the card as snickers flitted around the room, and Danny stepped forward at his name. "You are a….a medieval knight searching for his princess." Danny rolled his eyes as he took the card, Sheila taking his place. "Sheila is deathly afraid of the color red." This brought out laughter as the red-head sat down. "And Brandon becomes the Shenanigan that he touches. Now we just need Keith to come back."

Keith was retrieved from outside and the others jumped off the stage. Keith was given the go ahead and he started.

"Okay. I have drinks, food, music, and even a movie if I get desperate. Oh, I hope they come! I mean, there's got to be-" He was interrupted by a small knock on the stage and ran over, opening up an imagined door. "Hi! I'm glad you could…come?"

Sheila came in with her body in a continuous crouch, her eyes glancing around furtively. "Y-yeah, me, too. Thanks for inviting me."

"Your welcome. Look, there's some punch if you want something to drink." Keith turned around to indicate where it would be and the design on the back of his shirt was revealed, which just happened to have some red in it.

Sheila gave out an ear-piercing shriek and Keith turned around quickly, watching as Sheila, the red having disappeared, calmed down. "N-nothing. I'm f-fine."

Keith looked on in confusion. "…Okay…... Like I said, there's punch over there."

Sheila turned sharply to stare at him. "What flavor?"

"Um….strawberry? Yes, strawberry."

"Strawberry," Sheila murmured under her breath then nodded. "Strawberry's good."

Keith opened his mouth to say something as Sheila moved towards the other end of the stage, but was interrupted by a knock, opening the door for Danny. "Hello."

"Back foul demon to the infernal Hell which thou camest from!"

Keith back away as Danny jumped up onto the stage, looking around also. It's nice to meet you, too," Keith said hesitantly. "You the exorcist I called for?"

Danny addressed him again. "Nay, I am not this priest of whom you speak, but if he shall come between me and my quest then I shall vanquish for thee. You would do well to remember that also." Then Danny strode away, leaving Keith as he turned to let Bethany in…who was wearing a red shirt.

Sheila screamed, throwing herself behind one of the benches.

"Princess!" Danny sprang forward, his shoulders slumping as she peaked over the bench. "Oh, excuse me, fair damsel. Please, tell me what ails you. Is it the demon that resides here?" Sheila pointed a shaking finger at Bethany.

Keith turned back from the conversation, addressing Bethany. "Sorry about that."

"It's all right." Bethany's voice came out timid as she smiled at him. "I know I'm not that much to look at. But I have to tell you now that you can't send back for a refund."

"No, no, no," Keith said genially. "I'm glad you came. Just go on and get to know people. Eat some of the snacks."

"Thank you." Bethany walked across the stage, Sheila moving away from her. Keith strode over.

"You know, she won't hurt you.'

"B-b-but, she's…I can't…."

"What's wrong?"

Keith's attention was directed away as Brandon knocked on the stage. He walked over, opening the door for him.

Brandon stepped up, placing a hand on Keith's shoulder. Immediately, his whole demeanor changed, and he started imitating Keith's motions, dancing anxiously in place in the same rhythm as Keith.

"Glad you could come," Keith cordially said, blinking at Brandon's strange behavior. "I have snacks, music, there's even a-"

"Yeah, thanks for inviting me. This'll be my last party before I go and transfer. Hey, look! Food!" Brandon turned and made a bee-line for where Bethany was standing, pretending to daintily sip a drink of some sort. As soon as he took her arm, he stood up straighter, putting on the impression of being tall. His voice, now high and effeminate. "These shoes don't make me look too tall, do they?"

"No, they're fine," she replied sweetly. "And they match your outfit so well!"

Keith peered at Brandon in confusion. "Are you Bethany?"

Brandon latched on to him, letting go of Bethany. "Hey, you got anything by Michael Jackson? I just love him!"

"Are you me?"

Sheila's shriek jerked attention to her. Bethany had walked over, intending to say something to her, or perhaps sit down next to her on the bench, but Sheila shrieked again and flung herself further down the bench, where Danny happened to be sitting. Danny ducked, and Sheila rolled across his back, landing upright on the bench next to them. They stared at each other in wonderment before Sheila shrieked again and took off across the stage, Bethany following her, expressing concern.

"Hey, don't leave!" Keith called out desperately. "I'm sure you two can work something out!" Keith than turned, addressing Danny who had stood up and walked over.

"Where is she," Danny barked.

"Where's who?"

"Deceiver! I knowest that thou have her and you will let her go or you shall feel my blade!"

"Look, I can't help you without more information. Who are you looking for?"

Brandon, still hanging around near Keith had now grabbed onto Danny.

"You know what's even more frustrating? I've loved this girl since forever, and yet I can't tell her how I feel and I see her almost everyday. How pathetic am I?"

Keith, getting frustrated by this time, took the hint and exclaimed, "I know who you are! You're Danny Fenton!"

And, in the crowd, Sam turned towards Tucker. "How do they know about Paulina?" And, since she was facing Tucker, she missed Michelle's gesture signifying that the hint had gone completely over her head.

Danny, now turning very red, broke from Brandon's grasp before he could be embarrassed anymore. 'Princess! Princess, where are you?" he yelled, and then leaped off the stage to run around frantically through the audience.

Sam stared after him as he wound his way through the chairs, tables and people sitting on the floor. At one point, Danny looked over at her and their eyes connected. San's breath caught in her throat and Danny paused, staring. But then he reminded himself of reality and began running again, calling out for his princess.

On stage, Bethany had approached Keith. "You should know that I don't, cook, do dishes, laundry, dust, or use the vacuum."

"Then……….what are you here for?"

"You should know, darling. You sent out for me."

"………You're not a prostitute, are you?"

Bethany gasped and slapped him across the face. "How dare you! Just because you paid for me, doesn't give you the right to question my integrity. What example does that set for our children!

"Children!" Keith blurted.

"Well, our future children. Why else would you order for me if you didn't want to start a family?"

"Well, you can go back to whatever company you came from and tell them that I will never be ordering another wife through the mail again." Applause rang out as the two both smiled and Bethany stepped off the stage. However, the applause was quickly overshadowed by laughter. Danny had decided to go for the comic choice. He now stood on the stage, carrying Professor Bouchelle bridal style with some difficulty.

"Oh, princess, I found you!" Danny set him sown and then overdramatically flung his arms around the professor.

"All right, Prince Charming," Keith started and then looked to Professor Bouchelle to see if he was correct, who only shook his head. "…..is not here, so you might want to give him back his princess. Believe me, you don't want her."

"She is my princess, you dastard. I have searched far for her. And if you wish to challenge me for her than I swear upon the King's name that you shall lose!"

"Well, how can I argue with such a dedicated knight?" More applause and Danny stepped off the stage to join Bethany. Keith then turned around to face Brandon and Sheila, who was cowering behind Brandon.

"So…….are you a schizophrenic?"

Brandon's voice was once again effeminate. "Schizo? Look, I might be a lot of strange and unusual things, but I'm still sane……a little."

"You, um, mimic different people?"

When Professor Bouchelle once again shook his head, a cry of, "Switch!" rang came from the audience and soon others were repeating it. Brandon put his hand back on Keith's shoulder and once again mimicked Keith's facial expression and excitable movements.

"So when are we going to get some Michael Jackson playing in here?"

Finally, Keith seemed to catch the hints. "You're…..all four of you?"

Professor Bouchelle cut in. "When he does what?"

Brandon squeezed Keith's shoulder. "When he touches us?"

There were cheers and applause and Brandon was finally allowed to leave the stage. Keith waited for it to cease before finally addressing Sheila, who was still in her hunched and fearful position.

"You know, if you're cold, I can turn up the heater."

"N-no. I'm f-fine. It's finally gone. I'm safe."

"Safe from what?"

"It…." Sheila's hair feel into her eyes and she shrieked, ducking low behind Keith's legs. "There it is again!"

"What! I didn't see anything." Keith turned around and Sheila gave another shriek as she spotted the back of his shirt. Keith turned to stare and she immediately calmed down back to the whimpering, pitiful girl. "…….What?"

Sheila pointed shakily at him. "It-it's on you…."

"It is?" Keith turned around in a circle confused, giving the girl another fright when his back again came into her view. "What's wrong?"

"I told you, it's on you!" Sheila began rocking back and forth. "It was on the lady, too, and she wouldn't leave me alone. It never leaves me alone.…" Rocking forward, Sheila's hair fell into her eyesight again and she panicked once again, looking around in terror, her hair having flipped back to the side of her face and Sheila self-consciously tucked it behind an ear.

Keith watched this with growing suspicion, beginning to smile. "You're not, by any chance, afraid of the color red?"

Sheila perked up cheerfully and stood up, stepping off to join the other four then getting back on with the others as the applause resounded through the walls of the ice cream parlor. Professor Bouchelle was back in the middle of stage, calling over the noise. "I want to thank you for coming out to our last show and another thank you to Alexander's for having us! You've all been a great audience. Goodnight."

People began heading for the door or going up to congratulate the five. Danny hopped down from the stage and headed for Sam, Tucker and Michelle as they tried to make there way through the crowd.

"That was freaking awesome, man!" Tucker blurted out as soon as they reached each other.

"Thanks. I'm glad you enjoyed it."

"Enjoyed it," Michelle piped up. "You were amazing! All five of you were. I could never do something like that."

Danny was close to blushing. "Thanks again." He turned towards Sam who had been silent so far. "How did you like the performance, Sam?"

She sent him a large smile. "It was very entertaining to say the least. You five are a great team. I didn't know you had all that wit in you."

Now Danny really was blushing. "Thank you. I'm really not that great." He dug in his pockets, looking for a distraction, knowing how hot his face felt. "I'll drive you all back."

Sam frowned. "But it's such a nice night. We walked down earlier, we can walk back."

"Are you joking," Tucker protested. "It's late. It's probably freezing out there."

"Are you sure you want to walk back, Sam?" Danny asked.

"You know," Michelle said. "Danny just can't leave his car here overnight. Someone will have to take it up." Michelle glanced encouragingly at Tucker and his face brightened.

"Yeah! I'll just drive your car up, Danny. Don't worry, I've driven it before."

"Hey, wait-" Danny's keys were taken from his hand before he could say anything else and Michelle and Tucker were already crossing the restaurant. Danny Turned and look over at Sam. "So…...how far of a walk are we talking about?"



The front door to Danny's on-campus house opened and Sam's laughter could once again be heard as the two stepped inside. "She really did that?"

"Yep," Danny assured. "Sheila said that on her way to practice, she tripped and soiled her skirt in the mud because it had rained the day earlier. So she quickly ran in and found a restroom and turned her skirt inside-out. Her slip was on over her skirt and everything. It was priceless."

"Sounds like it," Sam replied as she sat down on the couch in the living room. "You really like being a Shenanigan, don't you?"

"Of course I do. It's really fun and the guys are great. I'm surprised I do it so well."

"I'm not," Sam answered truthfully. "You were always witty, you just needed more confidence. High school is hardly a place that boosts morale."

"I guess you're right." Danny looked over at her and then down at his feet. More confident? Sure. He could make witty jokes up on stage, but he could even get enough courage to tell her that he loved her. He'd trade all his confidence in the world to tell her. But if she thought he had all this confidence then it had to be there. Sam was so observant and would never lie to him. If he just tried…

"Sam...I think I have something to tell you."

Sam face turned up to lock eyes with him curiously. "What is it, Danny?"

"I…..I think…..think that……" Her stare was getting to him; she was staring at him so intently, as if every word was worth listening to. His courage broke. "…That I've never seen you smile so much." He plastered on his best smile, but it fell as Sam's face changed. The hopeful glint that he now recognized in her eyes vanished and she frowned, standing up. "Yes, well, I better change that. Don't want you thinking that I'll start wearing pink and giggling at every insignificant thing." She tried to walk passed him and head for the door. "I'm tired. Goodnight, Danny."

He grabbed her arm and she turned back to look at him and he took a step back to see her eyes tearing up. Had she been hoping that he would have told her what he had tried to so many times? And he had tried, but there had always been some sort of interruption, ghost related or not. Or he had chickened out because he was afraid it was the right moment.

But maybe she needed to hear it more than he needed to find the right moment.

"I love you." And, pulling on her arm towards him, he leaned in and kissed her. She was stock still for a moment in surprise before relief flooded him as she returned the kiss eagerly. And it was wonderful! Every cliché flickered through his mind as they kissed. Fireworks went off, the world melted away……"

And lights flashed as several cameras went off simultaneously.

**Done! - I enjoyed writing this for all of you. I hope you enjoyed reading it. Even with my infrequent updates.**

**Reviews make miracles**

**Faith's melody**


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